Shoe former



June 29,1926. Y y 1,590,231

A. A. DURKEE SHOE FORMER Filed Feb. 16, 1923 ZTr-JUETD trav-v Patented June 29, 1926.

` yUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SII-ICE FORMER,

Application led February 16, 1928. Serial No. 619,387.

My invention relates to a shoe former designed for insertion in a shoe after 1t has been removed from the last to maintain it inV proper form during the final manufacturing operations and is an improvement of the former described and claimed in United State Letters Patent No. 1,489,745, issued to me April 8, 1924.

In the manufacture of shoes, there are a number of final operations after the shoe is removed from the last such as inonograA ming, cleaning, insertion of soclr lining, treeing, repairing, dressing, brushing, etc., which operations are generally carried on in the treeing and packing room and all of which, since the shoe is no longer held in `its correct form by the last, have a tendency to warp the shoe and to destroy its correct and attractive linesV and fitting qualities. Frequently, the natural reaction of the stock unser the finishing processes, especially in a thin-soled shoe, causes the toe of the shoe to turn upwardly, and the frequent handling of the shoe causes the sides to be spread lapart and distorted. Again in shoes made of thin or soft leather small wrinkles appear due to the fact that the leather is not supported over a firm form or held under tension during the linal processes, and when the leather is shrunk by the use of a hot iron to remove the wrinkles an objectionable fullness apf pears in the lining. i Y

in general, these various final processes have the eect of distorting the shoe and destroying the correct form and style given 1t by the last causing the attractive appearance and lines of the shoe to be sacrificed and its salablility detrimentally affected.

The main object of the'invention is the. provision of a shoe former adapted to hold the shoe under a longitudinal tension during the final manufacturing processes in order to preserve the correct form given to the slice by the last.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a former capable of adjustment to fit differentvsizes and stylesfof shoes and provided with means for indicating said adjustments, so that the former can be returned to a previous adjustment for a certain style and size of shoe rwithout requiring experimentation t-o get the best adjustment.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a former which exerts a pressure on two Amain axial lines in a shoe, one ex-f tending from the center of the heel seat to the toe of the shoe and the other froma point below the center of the heel to the center of the cone of the shoe and both pressures being capable of independent adj ustment.

An additional object is to secure a former of simple, efiicient and cheapV construction Y which may be easily and expeditiously placed in or removed from a shoe without injury thereto and without aiecting the lines thereof.

Other objects of the invention will be more speciicallyset forth and described hereinafter. Y

My invention contemplates a'former provided with expanding means whereby pressure is exerted longitudinally upon the front and rear portions of the shoe to straighten it and to cause the sides to close in. Preferably the pressure is exerted in a plane which passes longitudinally and centrally through the shoe and is approximately perpendicular to the sole. In its preferred form my invention contemplates aformer comprising two overlappingrmembers connected together in sliding engagement with expanding means between; one of said members being.'

adapted to engage the'heel portion of the shoe on Va central line from the sole to the top of the upper and the other of said members engaging the toe, and carrying means for engaging the cone of the shoe in a central line.

' One ofthe important features of my invention resides in the provision of means for exerting pressure along two main lines, one running from heel to toe, approximately parallel with the sole, and the other from the lower part of the heel to the cone of the4 tion consists in providing a series of' gradua.

tions for each line of pressure corresponding to the range of sizes of shoes. This feature results in a saving of time in adjusting the former to various sizes of slices and atthe i'aftely adjusted for that style Whenever.

necessary Without loss of time. Furthermore, since 'such lcorrect adjustments .are made before the former is placed in the shoe, th'e 'distortion 'thereof by 'frequent .insertions and 'removals of the former for adjustment *'r lvobvated. Y

A ier ieature oiany .invention is its Wide range olf adaptability, due 'to the fact that it is independently adjustable on tWo lines oir press-me4 Which iper-mits the lormer to be `l:applied with equal facility to low fand high heeled shoes in Which tlie'htivo linesolt pressure vary in the amount of divergence and 'consequently :in their .relative adjustm'ents. f

In the drawings illustrating .the preferred iorm'oi my invention, -Ffigure l1 is a Iside elevation of la 'shoe iorme'r constructed .in ac'- cordance with my invention .andshown in a position of ius'e `in La shoe v@outlined in broken lines; A'2 is ra 'side elevation of the former; Fig. f3 is a bottom pl-an view of the saine; 4 is 2a cross-sectional Vview on line in Fig. Vl2 .looking :from right to left.; and is vr'a cross-'sectional 'view y'on .line

5:45.1in :2 looking :from right to left.

.Referring to the drawings, illustrating one former my invention, .10 designates a toe 'member and `1'2 fa yheel member, rvvilcfh members may be mad-e in any 'suitable 'lorm but preferably are constructed from sti Wire rod. The toe :member 10 iis straight and adapted to 'engage :at its 'forward end the inner fsm-face oit thetoe or' the 'sh'o'elg its rear end 14 being upturne'cl to serve as a `finger niece. The heel member 12 fis also straight at its rear Tend 'is 'turned upwardly yand then 'downwardly to .form a @loop 16 serving as a lheeleengaging portion. The `free end 18 of the loop 16 iis bent V:refversely into fa. for- Ward parallel relation 'with the heel member 112 'to serve ias a gui de @rod Y"andat its end is fixedrly connected thereto by Aa Vtralnsvers'e 1in1k'20. Y

LThe tavo members may lbe secured together in overlapping relation by @any suitable means permitting Pifree relative longitudinal movement and one rsuch means is shown comprising tivo or more connecting-links. Upon the .iront end of zthe heel member -112 is fixed transversely va fiat llink 22 lhavi'ng la lhole 't'o receive loosely the 'forward end fof .the toe member 3ro; 'the link @also serving as fa guide to 'hold the `Itoe member iagainst laterall movement, Without interfering with its free .longitudinal .movement relative 'to the heel inein- 4ber. On top of the rear end of the toe member isimounted a flat band or plate 24 bored near its rear end to receive the finger piece A14 and near its forward end to receive the toe member 10, and since these parts are in righ-t angled rela/tion to each other, the band 24 is held rigidly against tilting laterally. The forward end '.26 o'f the band S24 is 'bent at right :angles to the main body of the band and is bored to :receive .loosely the fheel member 1.2, and the rear end`28 is bent in similar `direction but provided with tavo rholes `.to receive loosely the heel ymember v12 and `the guide rod 18. As tliusconstructetll the toe and heel members are capable of tree relative movement 'one to the other in .a .l'on'gitudinal direction :and all the parts are retained in substantially Yone :plane by the oonnections 20, .22, 26 :and 28.`

Any .suitable means maybe provided `or h'oldingthe former in `an expanded position' and one such means Ais shown comprising a 4helical :spring -30 mounted lon the heel member 12 and abutting at its forward end the connection 26 and at lits rear end -a collar 32 which is' slidafbly movable on the member 12 but which may lbe secured in zadjusted position by means of 'a right-:angled faste-ning member 34 threaded through the block andadapted to bear against the member 12. The outer rarm oi' the member I34 urmshes convenient -means for turning it with the fingers 'to release the block or to secure it .in any adjusted position upon the heel member 12.

Tolfacilitate the adjustment of the former to diterent sizes and styles fof shoes before insertion therein, it may Vbe .provided with a series of graduations 36 corresponding-in range to the yrai-ige lof length 'sizes sof the shoes in which itis `to @be used. V[n lthe :scale shown the drawings which is adapted for Womens shoes, the .graduations run from two toten inclusive, each representing a .full length size of shoe. The scale 236 is preferably marked 'on :a part of 'the .heel member, suc'hlas the :guide rod '18 Where it ycan readily be zseen., fand in a .position -to cooperate 'with the connection 28 which .iis carried by and moves with the toe member ,10. The f'graduations are so placed that when the collar 32 is adjusted at a certain graduation, lthe iformer, When insertedfin a shoe off ithat particular size, Will be Vcompressed y'sutficiently to exert the ynominal .pressure 'upon that shoe. That is, the fgrad-.iiations kare so placedthat the lfoimer when adjusted for a particular s-iz'eds'hoe iis lon-ger than `that 'size 'and ltherefore is contracted when 'placed fin 'the .shoe against 'the pres-sure of the spring '30.

For :exerting :pressure upon the cone of the shoe, a cone member 38 substantially triangular 5in general outline and havi-ng :a

j curved edge 40 adapted to engage the cone Bil of the shoe may be fixedly mounted in an upright position upon a band 42 in any suitable manner. rlhis end may be accomplished by providing the band 42 with two longitudinal through and through openings to receive projections 44 formed on the lower edge of the cone member 38, the ends of these projections being swaged over on the under side of the band 42 to hold the cone member in a position substantially perpendicular to the band as shown in Figure 5. The band 42 is slidably mounted upon the toe member 10 by having its forward end 46 bend downwardly at right angles to the body portion 42 and bored to receive loosely the toe member 10 and its rear end 48 bent in a similar manner and provided with three openings to receiveloosely the toe member 10, the heel member 12 and the guide rod 18. The part 48 thereby serves as a connection to hold the three members 10, 12 and 18 in one plane and in proper alignment and the cone in an vupright position in the same plane with said three members.

As thus described the band and cone member slide freely upon the toe and heel members but anysuitable means may be provided for adjusting it in position to exert a resilient pressure upon the cone of the shoe. Preferably, means similar to that used for the toe and heel members is provided com prising` a helical spring 5G mounted on the toe member 10 and abutting at its forward end the part 46 and at its rearward end a collar 52 secured in adjusted position by a fastening member 54 operating in the same manner as the fastening member 34.

A table of graduations 56 on the toe member 10 may be provided for the cone member but since the cone member is adjusted only for variations in style, this table may be limited to three graduations 16, 12 and 8 respectively from rear to front. After the cone member has been adjusted for the style no further adjust-ment is required since it is fixed on the toe member and the lengtl'i adjustment is taken care of in adjusting the relation between the toe and heel members according to graduations 36.

In the use of my invention, the former 1s intended to be adjusted as to length and cone pressure before being placed in the shoe. Normally the two springs 30 and 50 are of sufficient strength to hold the formerv in extended position with the cone in a forward position as sho-wn in Figure 2, the two springs in this situation not being compressed to any appreciable extent. Vhen the former is inserted in a shoe, one finger is placed in the circular hole 60 in the cone member and the thumb upon the finger vpiece 14 and the former is then contracted lengthwise against the pressure of the two springs and is inserted in the shoe without disturbing its'lines by stretching or warping it. It is removed from the shoe in the same manner. The fact that the former may thus be contracted in length to a very appreciable extent is an important consideration because kit permits the removal of the former from the shoe after the completion of the nishing operations without in any way or to any extent stretching the shoe or altering its final shape and lines.

In adjusting t-he former in the first instance to a shoe of a particular style and construction, it will be necessary to experiment on one shoe of that style and construction for the purpose of obtaining data as to the amounts of pressure on both lines which are needed for securing the best results, but after that data has been obtained for one shoe, the former may then be adjusted to all other sizes of that type of shoe by merely changing the adjustment of the collar 32 to the particular size, the cone adjustment remaining the same for all sizes.

For example in Figure 2, the former is shown vas adjusted for a number two size womans shoe with the connection 28 registering with the graduation 2. These graduations are so placed, however, that the former is reduced in length when placed in a No. 2 shoe, as shown in Figure 1, in order to secure a normal longitudinal pressure, the spring 30 being compressed sufficiently to exert such a pressure upon the shoe. In case, however, more than normal pressure is required to secure the desired results in a shoe, the former may be adjusted a half-size j or a full size or even more higher up on the-v scale, and the collar 32 secured in such position. If, for instance, the collar be adjusted on the graduation marked 3, then when the device is placed in a number two shoe, the spring 30 is compressed an additional full size on the scale and increased pressure results. It is apparent that anyV practical degree of pressure may be attained by'such adjustment, and when the final adjustment has been made on one size whatever that may be, as noted in respect to the scale of graduations, the adjustments for all other sizes so far as the length is concerned are fixed. Having thus attained the length adjustment for one shoe of a= particular make, it may be recorded and thereafter no further experimentation is required for those conditions.

The cone adjustment is both independent of and dependent upon the length adjustment. In the first place, it is independent Y of the length adjustment because it is a style adjustment and dependent upon the height of the heel of the shoe. As a rule the higher the heel of the shoe the further rearwardly the cone member is adj usted upon Vthe former. Since the range of this adjustment is somevwhat lessthan the range of the length adjustment, l have 'found that three ,Orradua-rv tions are generally sufcient for `'this scale and Will furnish .a suflicient Vcriterion or guide for a. wide. range of styles. Inthe second place the coneadjustment is dependent upon .the length yadjustment in tb at it 'follows it. After the .cone adjustment .lias been fixed for o-ne vshoe lof a certain style it is fixed for all sizes of that style Asince the cone memberr is fixed in position upon the toe member and moves therewith to adjust itself to various lengths `of shoes.

The -correct co'nie'adj ustment is Yin the first instance secured in the saine manner as .the length adjustment .by experimentation to attain the desired and ynecessary pressure upon "the cone by the spring 5t). After be' ing determined for one shoe, .preferably at the same time that the length adjustment iS made, .it is fmade for -al-l sizes :ofthat styleand may be recorded for future reference.

It wiflll Abe apparentfroin the foregoing that the provision of two scales Aoff graduati-ons is productiyefof important advantages in the 'use of shoe formers. After .the adjustments `have been determined for the if'arious lstyles and l.makes of shoes, which is a comparatively .simple matter, no further experimentation is required and a device may be. 'instantly .adjusted merely by reference to .the vrecorded adjustments for that particular style and make. In addition zto saving the time heretofore Wasted `ifi-'experimenting with `each shoe,the kformer may `be accurately adjusted before being placed in a shoe which is of importance since it reduces to a minimum the handling and `distortion of fthe-shoe. Furthermore, the Igeneral construction of the former and its susceptibility to being retracted permits iits installation in a shoe without disturbing rthe correct lines given kby the last.

Although., Vas stated above, the illustrated former is one designed for Womens shoes, it can be .applied V:to both mens .anclfchildrens shoes by mere variations in size vand by the provision of scales of Vgraduations suitable for those classes and sizes of shoes. Neither have .attempted herein to set forthwthe various conditions Iof Vstyle and construction which may affect the adjustment of vthe former to .particu-lar kinds of shoes, since to one skilled in the art yof shoemaking it Will be fat once obvious Show '.to apply the 'former to suit all conditions met with in the shoemakfing art and to secure the desired results.

In the use of my invention, I have found that in addition to securing a perfect shape and attractive .'li-nes in the finished .productcertain economies are attained'in the finish ing processes. For instance, the .former s'trailghtens 'out the lining :and prevents Wrinkling thereof `and in many shoes iobvia-'tes entirelythe necessity 'of iron-.ing to eradicate Wrinkles. Again, .since `a wide range foiff adjustment and Iconsequent 'pressure may ibe attained, it is possible to hold any shoe in correct position during the entire finishing processes, .irrespective of the styile of make :and `the .lindof material vused in its construction.

The importance .of holding the yshoe :in correct form during the finishing processes cannot be overestimated because :to a -great extent its saleabillity depends .upon Whether or Vnot its Vlines .and :general appearance .is attractive. If `the yshoe is Warped When'the dressing is applied it will iaiwiays remain in that condition because the dressing will retain in the shoe the general `.shape and .lines which it has `when the dressing is applied.

it is to be clearly understood that my 'invention isfnot `to be Ilimited fto the. :particular form .shown fand described herein :since it maybe embodied in various other constructions Wit'hin the purview of the following cil-aims.

lVhat I claim is:

1. A shoe former having, in iicombination, a toe member and a .heel `member in overlapping extensible relation, resilient `means for lholding said two members in extended relation, said .means-being adjustablel to reg ulate the `amount of pressure exerted 'thereby .when the former is placed in a. shoe, a table of graduations marked kon Vsaid former for regulating the :adjustment -of `said resilient means, .a :cone member `carried by :said toe member and resilient means for holding said cone member im 'forward position, said means being adjustable to regulate the amount `of pressure exerted thereby when the former is .in .a shoe.

'2. A `shoe former having, in combination,

a toe member and 'a heel member arrangedin `-interlocked overlapping extensible 'relation, resilient'means for lholding 'said two members in lon'gi*rmd'inally extended relatifon, said means being :adjustable to regulate. the amount of `pressure :exerted thereby when the former is placed in the shoe; .a cone member carried by lsaid toe member, resilient means :for holding said cone member -in forward position, 'said means being adjustable to :regulate vthe amount 1of .pres sure .ener-tied thereby when the .former ,-is in the shoe.

lf3. Ashoe former having, in combination, a .toer-member .and a heel member in longitudinaily overlapping vextensible relation, resilientemeazns .for holding .sa-id two 'members in extended relation, said mea-ns ybeing -adjustafble to regulate the amount of ipressijire exerted thereby when the former is placed in the ishoe, a :table lof graduatifons imarked on said former for regulating the adjustment offs'aid `resilient means, fa cone member carried Iby said toe member, .resilient means for holding said cone :member in 4forward Vposition, said means being adjustable toregulate the amount of pressure exerted thereby when the former is in the shoe and a table of graduationsmarlied on said former whereby the adjustment of said cone member may be regulated.

4. A shoe former having, in combination, two members in overlapping extensible relation, resilient means for holding said two members in extended relation, said resilient means being adjustable, a cone plate carried by one of said members, and resilient means for holding said eone member in a forward position, said last mentioned means being adjustable.

5. A shoe former having, in combination, two members in overlapping extensible relation, resilient means interposed between said two members for holding them in an extended relation, a cone member carried by one of said members for exerting pressure along the central line only of theJ Cone of the shoe and a spring for holding said cone member in a forward position, said spring being adjustable in position to suit various styles of shoes.

6. A shoe former having, in combination, two members in overlapping extensible relation, compressible means for holding said two members in extended relation, a cone member carried by one of said members for engaging the cone of the shoe, a collar mounted on said member, said collar being adjustable longitudinally on said member,

and a spring for holding said cone member in a forward position, said spring abutting at its forward end said cone member and at its rear end said collar.

7. A shoe former having, in Combination,

two members interlooked in overlapping extensible relation, eompresslble means inter.-

posed between said two members for holding them in extended relation, said means being adjustable, a Cone member mounted on the forward one of said two members, a helical spring mounted on said forward one of said two members for holding said eone member in forward positiomsaid spring being adjustable, and a seale of graduations marked on said forward one of said two members to serve as a guide for the adjustment of said sprino'.

8. A shoe former having, in Combination, a toe member, a heel member, means connecting said two members in overlapping expansible relation and expansible means for forcing said members into expanded position, a cone member carried by said toe member and movable thereon and adjustable resilient means for holding said cone member in a forward position.

9. A shoe former having, in combination, two skeleton members in overlapping extensible relation in substantially the same plane for stretching a shoe lengthwise to cause its sides to close in, oompressible means` for holding said two members in extended relation, a Cone-plate mounted on one of said members, a spring for holding said plate in a forward position to exert pressure along the Central line of the cone vof the shoe andV means for regulating the pressure exerted by said spring.

In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of January, 1923.

ADELBERT A. DURKEE. 

